NYC Regional Rail Tickets Will Go Mobile in a Matter of Months

Skift Take

NYC is behind other major metropolitan areas in implementing mobile ticketing so we hope this announcement is quickly followed up with the introduction of mobile ticketing throughout the city’s public transit system.

Although these stock photos are terrible, they do show two screens of the coming MTA ticketing app. This one shows that the user bought a pass.Masabi

This shot shows what the ticket screen to access the transportation looks like.Masabi

A new mobile ticketing service will be available to New York City residents and visitors in a number of months, according to the vice president of Masabi, a mobile ticketing platform that has been chosen to provide mobile ticketing for both the Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road.

Riders on the commuter train lines will be able to purchase every type of ticket from single rides to monthly passes via a mobile app and mobile website. Conductors will be equipped with handheld devices that scan the mobile pass.

Of course, paper tickets will still be available on all lines and there will be no price difference between the paper and electronic tickets.

Metro-North and the LIRR each carry about 83 million people per year.

What’s more exciting for city dwellers is that todays’ announcement signals the first official step towards rolling out mobile ticketing to the city’s more than 200 subway stations.

An MTA spokesperson says the agency is currently researching new technology.

“We are definitely researching a next generation replacement for the MetroCard,” says Marjorie Anders. “Tech is changing so fast. It’s hard to keep up.”

Masabi’s mobile ticketing technology has also been used by Boston’s MBTA, San Diego MTS, and several UK transportation operators.